


summertime (and the living's easy)

by zeitgeistofnow



Series: each night i ask the stars up above / why must I be a teenager in love? [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Summer, Trans Zuko (Avatar), because i feel v strongly about afab bodies existing without being sexualized, discussion of boobs in a distinctly nonsexualized context
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeitgeistofnow/pseuds/zeitgeistofnow
Summary: the grass is sprinkler-wet from earlier when zuko and sokka had turned the hose’s mist setting on themself in an effort to cool down and it tickles at his ears. the air is humid and presses down on his face and his binder protests at being sweat-logged. sokka brushes a strand of hair out of zuko’s face and presses a kiss to his nose, making a face at the sweat droplets dotting it.there’s nowhere zuko would rather be.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: each night i ask the stars up above / why must I be a teenager in love? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812379
Comments: 79
Kudos: 569





	summertime (and the living's easy)

“Augh! Babe! Not the ponytail!” Sokka squirms free of the chokehold Zuko has him in, tossing the other boy onto the grass of his front yard and flopping down on top of him. 

Zuko laughs aloud, bright and happy, and reaches up to pull out Sokka’s ponytail holder. He easily pulls it down onto his wrist and is sent into another fit of giggles when Sokka’s hair falls down across his face. Sokka beams down at him and Zuko’s laughter slowly fades, replaced by a content smile. 

The grass is sprinkler-wet from earlier when Zuko and Sokka had turned the hose’s mist setting on themself in an effort to cool down and it tickles at his ears. The air is humid and presses down on his face and his binder protests at being sweat-logged. Sokka brushes a strand of hair out of Zuko’s face and presses a kiss to his nose, making a face at the sweat droplets dotting it.

There’s nowhere Zuko would rather be.

Sokka bursts through every doorway he enters, swinging doors wide and slamming them behind him, striding into the next room like there’s not a person in the world who wouldn’t be thrilled to see him. And he’s right, Zuko thinks amusedly.

Sokka flops onto his entryway floor, untying his shoes and dropping them onto the pile of the rest of his family’s shoes- Aang’s and Katara’s and Bato’s and Hadoka’s all in a messy heap. Zuko stands beside him, balancing on one foot as he carefully unties his sneakers. He gently places them on the floor, straightening them and standing back up. Sokka watches him do all this with the expression of a boy who is thrilled about whatever he’s seeing. Zuko’s still not used to it. Uncle and Azula look at him with  _ love,  _ of course, but never like they’re excited with his existence. 

“Whatever, loverboy,” he mutters at Sokka and Sokka looks exaggeratedly offended.

“Is that supposed to be an  _ insult? _ ” He gasps, and Zuko rolls his eyes. “I cannot  _ believe-  _ actually I don’t care. You hungry?”

Zuko’s  _ hot,  _ is what he is. Hot and in mild pain from his binder, which is certainly not making him any less gross and sweaty. But if he thinks about it, he could go for some of Bato’s coleslaw. “Yeah, sure. Do you have any of your dad’s coleslaw?” He pulls his shirt away from his chest and lets go. 

Sokka pumps his fist. “Ugh,  _ babe,  _ you read my fucking mind. I think I heard him chopping cabbage last night, so like, probably.” They walk into the kitchen shoulder to shoulder, happily shoving each other into the doorways. It feels like what Zuko always knew summers were supposed to be like- sticky and sweaty and bright, walking into a kitchen with all the windows open and a fan whirring in the corners, eating coleslaw with someone you love.

Katara and Aang are at the table, making card towers out of triscuits and throwing blueberries at each other’s mouths. Aang looks up when the pair walks in and a blueberry bounces off his eyebrow.

“Ugh, Aang!”

“Sorry!” Aang smiles guilelessly at Katara. “Your brother’s back,” he says. 

“I know,” Katara says, knocking Aang’s triscuit tower over and chomping into one of the bottom crackers. “Hey Zuko. Bato made coleslaw especially for you so if you don’t have any he’ll be really sad.”

Sokka throws open the kitchen door and the condiments inside rattle against their balconies. The coleslaw is in a big ceramic bowl with a plate covering it and Zuko can already feel his mouth start to water. He’s starting to feel less hot, the heat outside fading to a discomforting memory. Sokka offers Zuko a fork and sets the big bowl down on the kitchen table. 

“So, kiddos, how’d the day go?” He stabs his fork through a collection of cabbage shreds and gestures at Katara and Aang with it. Zuko shoves him over and takes a forkful of coleslaw for himself. 

The first time Sokka had offered him coleslaw Zuko had been disconcerted when he hadn’t served them in individual bowls, but he’s gotten used to it. Sokka’s family shares food, and that’s just how it is.

“If you call me a kiddo I will kill you in your sleep,” Katara says, carefully placing another triscuit on her tower.

“We went to the YMCA,” Aang says.

“Suki’s working as a lifeguard there,” Katara says. “She said hi and that you guys should come over soon to finish Glee.” She makes a face at the show name and Zuko nods in agreement. They only watch it because it feels suitably ridiculous and it’s so easy to make fun of. 

“Yeah,” Sokka says, talking around another absurdly big bite. “Good for you two. The pool’s a nice way to cool down.”

“Life’s great when you don’t work at a supermarket!” Aang says cheerfully. 

“Whatever, twinkletoes.” Sokka says, “at least we have jobs. And like, money.”

“I wish mine didn’t involve boiling water,” Zuko says mournfully. The steam from the teapots fills the Jasmine Dragon’s kitchen area quickly and makes walking through to get whatever they need a pain. “Why are people still ordering hot tea in  _ August?” _

“People are crazy,” Sokka says solemnly. “Fuck customers. Can’t believe they have the audacity to be a consumer.”

“Ugh,” Zuko agrees, and takes one last bite of coleslaw. 

“You should come save me from Super One,” Sokka says, batting his eyelashes at Zuko as he replaces the makeshift lid of the coleslaw. “You’re so handsome, you probably wouldn’t even have to fight anyone.”

“I know my way around a sword anyway,” Zuko says, then colors. “Like, a literal sword. It was a thing in freshman year.”

Sokka presses a kiss to Zuko’s cheekbone, right below his eye. “You’re so cute,” he sighs.

Katara makes a face. “Oogie,” she says. Sokka reaches over the table to punch her in the arm and she cusses at him.

“We’re going up to my room,” Sokka says, putting the coleslaw away in the fridge and slamming it behind him. Zuko stands up and stretches, feeling the stifling heat start to descend around his ears again. 

“Why?” Aang asks.

“To do gay boy things,” Sokka says before Zuko can open his mouth. Katara glares at him.

“If you elaborate at all, ever, I will gouge my- your ears out with a rusty spoon. I don’t care you’re my brother.”

“Love you too, little sis,” Sokka sings over his shoulder. Zuko sends the pair a half smile and watches as Aang pulls the bottom cracker out of Katara’s tower. He hurries to catch up with Sokka, already halfway up the stairs.

_ “Aang! You jerk!” _

Sokka’s room is more suffocating than the kitchen, then outside, even. It’s less humid but Sokka left the windows closed when he left for work that morning and sunlight has been pouring onto his bedspread since then. Zuko pulls the door closed behind him and watches as Sokka tears the comforter off his mattress and pushes open his window. His biceps flex pleasantly and Zuko falls backwards onto the bed next to his boyfriend. 

“ _ Fuck  _ it’s hot,” he groans.

“I know,” Sokka says, pulling his shirt off and rummaging through his bedside table collection of things in one smooth gesture. Zuko lazily watches his back muscles shift in tandem, his shoulder blades moving under his skin. Sokka’s not ripped, but he’s solidly built, squares and triangles making up the planes of his body. When Zuko lays next to him he feels safe the same way he feels safe with his back to a wall. Solid. 

While he waits for Sokka to find whatever he’s looking for he turns on his summertime playlist. Kehlani starts to play through his phone’s tinny speakers and he tosses his phone to the foot of the bed.

“Okay,” Sokka says, laying back with a water bottle, “binder off. Drink some water. Don’t think I didn’t notice how shallowly you were breathing while we were wrestling.”

“Blech,” Zuko says, but starts to peel off his tank top. Sokka unclips the back of his binder for him and he lies with his arms stretched out, reveling in the feeling of air on his underboobs. Taking off his binder always feels like, well, taking off a device that was constricting your lungs, but in the summer it feels like taking off a constricting device that was also trapping more heat than greenhouse gasses. 

“This is the life,” Sokka says to his ceiling fan. “Tits out in the summertime, am I right?”

“Idiot. You don’t even have boobs.”

Sokka points to his pecs. “What do you call these then?”

“Those are your pectorals,” Zuko says, “and you can’t even do the bounce thing like Dwane Johnson.”

“Sorry I’m not a  _ professional wrestler,”  _ Sokka drawls, “I thought you liked my body.”

Zuko flushes. “Whatever.” Silence. “Yeah, yeah.” More silence and Zuko rolls onto his side to look at Sokka. “What do you want from me? Oh, Sokka, you’re  _ so  _ sexy,” he coos, and Sokka grins.

“Yeah, basically.”

“Nerd.”

“I’m  _ your  _ nerd,” Sokka says, and tucks a strand of dark hair behind Zuko’s ear. His face looks so open and Zuko knows his looks the same. He’s not used to being this comfortable around another person and it feels natural just as it’s the hardest thing he’s ever done. Kinda like painting his nails. “You’re so handsome,” Sokka murmurs.

“People with boobs aren’t handsome,” Zuko says.

“Woah,” Sokka says, narrowing his eyes. “You’re not invalidating your gender, are you? That’s illegal, babe. If boys can wear dresses boys can have titties. Besides, I can name so  _ many  _ boob-ed people who could be handsome. Butches,” he starts, ticking them off on his hands, “drag kings, trans-masc people…” He raises his eyebrows at Zuko. “You.”

“Whatever,” Zuko says, trying to hide the five different expressions warring over control of his face. “I just-”

“You’re  _ so  _ handsome,” Sokka says, rolling over onto Zuko and starting to pepper kisses over his face, “that you should be winning  _ awards.  _ Obama should be giving you medals for how handsome you are. Ellen should be having us on her show to talk about your handsomeness.”

A smile wins and Zuko grins up at Sokka. “Nerd,” he says.

“Handsome,” Sokka says back, rolling back off of his boyfriend and grimacing at the sensation of sticky skin. They both stare at the ceiling for a while, white stucco and popcorned dots. The sunshine meshes well with the breeze from Sokka’s floor fan, the whirring of blades going around and around and around. “Also,” Sokka finally says sheepishly, “titties is a really fun word to say.”

“I know you think so,” Zuko says, “I heard you and Suki just saying titties at each other for a full ten minutes that one time.”

“You said you were getting chips!”

“I can hear you guys from her kitchen,” Zuko laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> \- lol tho titties is so fun to say.. like it's dumb but like it has all the right sounds in the right places.....  
> \- i love the gaang dynamic and i rly need to introduce toph into this universe at some point i just. forgot and i am kinda going from the aang is basically part of the sokka/katara/bato/hadoka family and i don't rly get the same vibes from toph? like obviously she's part of the gaang family but like. aang has vibes like that neighborhood kid who is Always At Your House whereas toph is someone you meet later and bond with. anyway i love her and she needs to be in this soon so if i write more of this universe She Will Be There.  
> \- boys with boobs are very important to me. i think that while body parts are very gendered they don't have to be. trans men can embrace their breasts or they can't!! both are valid and obviously dysphoria and stuff but i think that we should consider why transitioning is the end goal of being trans. although this isn't super my place to talk about so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. i just hate gender.  
> \- you can find me on tumblr [@lazypigeon](https://lazypigeon.tumblr.com/).  
> \- comments and kudos make me SO happy :3


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